ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan’s digital reforms have moved into telecom rollout after operators acquired 480 MHz in a 5G auction, Federal Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on July 28.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said Jazz secured 190 MHz, Ufone acquired 180 MHz, and Zong bought 110 MHz in the March auction. Contemporary market reporting placed the proceeds at about $507 million.
PTA formally authorised the three companies to begin phased commercial 5G services on March 19. Coverage depends on location, network readiness and device compatibility, according to the regulator.
Khawaja told the GSMA Digital Nation Pakistan event that operators had started deploying their newly acquired spectrum. She said the additional capacity would also improve existing mobile-broadband services.
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The federal and provincial governments removed right-of-way charges on public-sector land to encourage fibre investment, according to an event report. Khawaja said fibre connections to telecom towers had increased from 14% to about 20%.
Pakistan also facilitated the landing of three submarine fibre-optic cables. However, the minister said global conditions had delayed their full activation.
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The GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2026 found that Pakistan’s mobile internet gender gap fell from 25% to 8% over the course of one year. The improvement ranked among the fastest across the 14 low- and middle-income countries surveyed.
Khawaja said the federal government and telecom industry had distributed 10 million free SIM cards to women. Universal Service Fund projects had also expanded connectivity in underserved rural areas.
The minister reported 208 million mobile subscribers and more than 164 million broadband users. She said broadband traffic had increased by 70% over the past 5 years.
